My Fitday Log for the week

Nutrient .......Units Intake Min Intake Goal Max Intake Goal
Calories ...........kcal 2288.9 --- ........................2300
Total Fat .............g 100.89 --- ..........................65
Saturated Fat .........g 26.63 --- ..........................25
Polyunsaturated Fat ...g 17.03 --- ---
Monounsaturated Fat ...g 38.53 --- ---
Cholesterol ..........mg 289.6 --- .........................300
Total Carbohydrate ...,g 259.37 ........300 ---
Dietary Fiber .........g 25.5 .........38 ---
Protein ...........,,,,g 98.11 ........187 ---

Thursday update

Got in a complete workout with HM phase one. My back didn't bother me at all. Made me sweat a lot. Not much room for my set next to my computer desk, but set up right so I don't hit anything. Triad A: barbell benchpress, barbell dead lift, barbell pullover. Triad B: BB squat, BB bent over row, BB lunge. Triad C: Cuban Press, BB seated calf raise, Crunch.

With the exception of all the wings at Quaker Steak and Lube yesterday, I have been eating fairly clean. I have been finishing up a few cookies left over from Christmas, but hey! The Christmas Season isn't over till after New Years Day!

Spent some time at Borders this afternoon, bought Jim Harrison's book "True North" and spent some time reading it with a cup of java there.

We drained our spa this today cleaned and refilled it. It hasn't been drained since Labor Day and was getting cloudy and smelled bad.

Ran across an Americana Music station on the web today, "Whole Wheat Radio" unusual, as they say It's as close to Northern Exposure's funky radio station as you can get. (Yup, there's a moose that hangs around the cabin)

Running Update

(From CoolRunning.com) I haven't updated this in a long time. Then again, I haven't run much in a long time. I did get myself a weight set/barbells at Thanksgiving to work on resistance training. I think I gained about 10 pounds since Thanksgiving. Too much food, and too many sweets always around during this season. Especially at work. Glad the season is behind me, only for this reason. I am off this week and the snow is gone after more then a month of groundcover and ice.

I got up to Howland Twp. Park for a two mile run. It was 34 degrees with light snow and a wind of 17 mph; wind chill of 23 degrees. Grey sky and dreay day. I might be crazy, but I love this kind of day.

The Holidays, and overweight

Christmas morning. I have been eating too many fats, and not good ones either. My weight this moring is up to 212 pounds; and I need to start getting that fat off. I have noticed the past few days, my jeans are fitting tighter. With this weekend being the first since before Thanksgiving it's been much above freezing and no snow, I should get up to the park and go for a 2 mile run.

I bought a set of barbells after Thanksgiving for weight training. Not much room to work with them, they are right next to this computer, but they will do. I have been back to working on the MH Homegrown Muscle series.

With 16 pounds to lose, updates will follow.....

Surgery

Thursday I finally got out for an easy two mile run, first time since before Labor Day. I got the OK from my doctor to resume exercise, just no heavy lifting yet. I started to get sick at the end of August, abdominal pains, then sensitive skin, then low grade fevers. Then I started to get the hick-ups; for four days. Being new to this area, I hadn't yet found a doctor; I finally found one that has my health plan and got an appointment for October 13. That was going to be too late.

Saturday, October 10 was four days into the hick-ups and pretty sick too. I went to an immediate care center. After poking around a few minutes, he told me to go straight to the emergency room at the hospital. Eight hours later, I was under the knife.

The poking around found a pain in my abdomen that I never noticed before. It turned out to be my appendix. They sent me to get a CT scan (after having to drink a foul tasting liquid once an hour for three hours) then in to get several x-rays. Finally about 8pm Saturday night they sent me to the operating room. The only thing I was upset about was I had been looking forward to watching the Ohio State - Texas football game all week; it was to start at 8pm Saturday night.

You know how you have always been told that after your appendix ruptures, you only have a few hours to get to the hospital or you could die? Well, mine ruptured two weeks before I finally got to the doctor. I didn't have any serious pain. I'm not sure when I would have gotten to the doctor if I didn't get the hick-ups.

I spent a total of five days in the hospital. I went back to work the following week. Four weeks later, I am pretty much back to my normal self.

New Home, New Efforts

We finally moved into our new home two weeks ago. We had to be out of our old house two weeks before that, so we had our stuff in storage for a couple of weeks. Several months ago, we booked a cruise for the time between those two dates. Very convenient. I now driver 12 miles to work. A savings of 100 miles round trip every day. And I now have a extra two hours at home instead of on the road!

We do not have the trails around here (Warren/Howland Ohio) as we did around Massillon. But the Howland Twp. Park is at the end of my street, and they have a one mile trail around it. I am getting in more running around here now that I have time and the park is so close. The Western Reserve Greenway is near here as well. The High School is a block away if I want to run on the track. Curves is right across the street, I may sign my wife up for that. There is a men's fitness next door to that; but I do not like their program.

I ran in my first race in almost 20 years (I ran in a one mile run 2 years ago) on Saturday, The Twilight 5k run in Canfield. I finished in 36:57 which is about my usual 12 minute per mile pace, and finished near the end of the pack. Being in the evening and a little cooler helped. The weather has been around the 90 degree mark for most of July. Today is finally cooling off..

Where I am at

I do not have much time for running or exercise. My 2.5 hour commute daily cuts down on my free time. I got in a two mile run today before I had to go to work. I am not a morning person, as I struggle on my early runs. When I run weekends, I usually go out in the early evening and get in much more mileage without tiring as easily.

Also we are spending more time preparing the house for sale; we had someone go through yesterday. Hope we get an offer soon. I commute 130 miles a day for over a year now. With the price of gas, I cannot afford to keep this up.

I used to keep a log of my running or workout at the gym as well as what I eat. At work, they put a block on certain websites and I cannot get Cool Running or Fitday anymore.

Intervals: Efficient & Effective

Intervals – Effective & Efficient
Men’s Fitness, Page 114, April 2005

Interval training is the fitness world’s equivalent of a visit to the in-
laws. The shorter and more intense the visit, the better. Research suggests
that intervals are superior to longer cardio workouts for fat loss and
sports conditioning, while also being a secret weapon for endurance
athletes.

An interval is a short period of exercise performed at a given intensity for
a specific length of time. Each interval is separated from the next interval
by a short rest or lighter activity. There are no strict rules on how long
or how intense the interval must be, however, changing the interval length
or intensity changes the way your body works and responds to exercise. For
example, intervals can train either the anaerobic (short-term) energy system
or the aerobic (long-term) energy system.

Never sacrifice the quality of rest between intervals because this will only
reduce the benefits. To succeed with intervals, you must first shake the
mindset of traditional continuous cardio training.

No matter where you start with intervals, heed this warning. The high-
intensity nature of the exercise can cause muscle soreness you’d associate
only with weights, and can cause your legs to feel like j-e-l-l-o.

Fat Loss

What most people don’t know is that intervals are the best cardio method for
fat loss. Most guys in the gym are hung up on doing excessive amounts of
work, but shorter, more intense intervals get the job done better. Intervals
continue to burn calories and fat after the training session, and that’s
something you won’t get from slower, longer sessions of cardio. When
Canadian researchers compared interval training and long, slow cardio
training, it was interval training that was shown to be more effective for
fat loss.
Use this workout 3-5 times per week to blast fat.

Start with this beginner protocol:
• Warm-up for 5-minutes.
• Work for 30 seconds at an 8/10 level of intensity.
• Follow that with “active rest” for 90 seconds at a 3/10 level of
intensity.
• Repeat for 3-8 intervals.
• Finish with 15 minutes of traditional cardio for “transition” and
cool-down.

As you become accustomed to intervals, progress to the experienced protocol:
• Warm-up for 5-10 minutes.
• Work at a 9/10 level of intensity for 30 seconds.
• Follow that with “active rest” for 60 seconds at a 3/10 level of
intensity.
• Repeat for 4-10 intervals.
• Finish with 5 minutes of low intensity exercise for a cool-down.

Sports Conditioning

To improve aerobic fitness, guys have traditionally used long, tedious
sessions of low-intensity exercise without considering whether this really
meets the demands of their sport. Most sports require periods of high-
intensity effort separated by periods of low-intensity movement. When it
comes to getting in shape for team sports, improving your time trial
performance, or blasting through an endurance training plateau, the better
alternative to traditional cardio is the unconventional methods of interval
training.

Research has shown that performing repeated 30-second sprints can increase
your aerobic fitness. This trains your muscles to work at higher intensities
and stimulates your muscles to produce energy faster. A second interval
method for improving fitness is aerobic interval training where each
interval lasts 2-3 minutes.

The biggest benefits you’ll achieve from sports conditioning intervals are
improvements in your muscle’s ability to work at high-intensities for
repeated bouts. So you can play extra hard for extra shifts on the ice
without experiencing dead legs. Athletes should train for competition at
exercise intensities specific to their event.

Your heart and lungs will also benefit, but intervals are really about
changes in your muscles. That’s why you want to choose a mode of exercise
that is as specific to your sport as possible. If you play soccer, you run.
If you play hockey, get some ice time and squeeze in some intervals after a
game of pick-up. And if you mountain bike, well, mountain bike.

In the off-season, use each of these workouts 1-2 times per week in addition
to your regular speed and fitness training for sports.

Workout A – Same workout as above (30 second sprints).

Workout B – Aerobic Intervals
Start with this beginner protocol:
• Warm-up for 5-minutes.
• Run or cycle for 2-3 minutes at a pace you could maintain for 8-10
minutes.
• You should almost reach your maximum heart rate at the end of the
interval.
• Record the distance you covered during this time. A relatively fit
Joe will probably run about 600 meters in 2 minutes at a proper pace.
• Rest (active rest = walking around at a very low intensity) for an
equal length of time you spent in the interval.
• After the rest, run the same distance and try to repeat the same
time as the first interval.
• Rest an equal length of time to the second run.
• Repeat 1-4 more times for a total of 3-6 intervals as a beginner.
• For advanced endurance athletes, a total of 10 intervals is tops.
• Finish with 5 minutes of low intensity exercise for a cool-down.

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